Sin Sentimiento
by Jeditimelord
Summary: Unrequited Cloti. Broken hearts lead to stress, stress leads to sickness even death. XxOneshotxX or maybe two...RR reviews are much appreciated.


Here we go again.

Disclaimer - All rights to the characters and game belong to Square-Enix. All rights to the storyline and dialogue of this fic are mine.

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Sin Sentimiento - Without Feeling

She balanced him out. Their personalities, looks, attitudes. It was as if they were created for each other. Tifa. The happy, optimistic, sweet young woman. Cloud. The reserved, once greatly troubled, young man. Yes they were perfect for each other. Everyone thought so, including the two young children that lay sound asleep in the room next door.

Tifa had waited a long while for this moment. As Cloud held her tightly in his arms, he leaned slightly forward against the windowsill. Gazing up into the twilight, the only sounds were the heavy rhythmic breaths emanating from the darked haired beauty in the blonde's strong arms.

She parted her lips slightly as if to say something, then shut them again. What would she say? How could she express what she was feeling at the moment? How would he react to her words? He wasn't very good with words, so how would he reply?

It seemed as if they had stayed like that for the entire night, before Tifa finally spoke.

" I'm not sure Cloud, that this is how I want to say this…" She started slowly, gaining the warrior's attention. He looked slightly confused.

' Your not one to have a hard time with words, Tifa." Tifa smiled wryly.

"Ironic huh? Usually I'm the once lecturing you…" She drifted off again. This time, however, Cloud did not respond. She continued.

" Cloud, you know…since we were kids. In Nibelheim, after you left..."

Broken sentences filled the once quiet atmosphere. Tifa shifted out of Cloud's embrace and stood a good foot away before continuing once again.

" What I'm trying to say is that I – ­"

" Tifa…." Cloud had a stern look on his face that spoke of authority. Why was he stopping her? Did he already know?

" Cloud I…" Cloud's eyes pierced her soul as she spoke. Such eye contact was rare .

Her fists clenched tightly as she looked away from his intense gaze. Bathed in moonlight Tifa was noticeably paler than usual.

" Cloud I­­ –" . A trickle of blood. It caught her off guard so she stopped her confession. Opening her hand, she noticed the imprints that her nails left on her palm.

" Tifa, your hand is bleeding. That's not good."

'Way to state the obvious Cloud. Always looking for a way out'. Tifa did not voice her thoughts, but instead turned completely away from Cloud. Why did he stop her?

Cloud grabbed her shoulder pulling her around to face him but she quickly shrugged out of his grasp. Confusion spread across the hero's face as Tifa spoke.

" I don't really love you Cloud!" Tifa was shaking slightly.

" Tifa…" Cloud looked down at her, directly into her eyes. His eyes held an emotion she was not used to. Pity. Unless directed at himself, Cloud rarely showed pity, for it was an emotion he was not adjusted to sharing. He felt sorry for her.

" I've misled you, all these years right? Is that what you think? No. Maybe you're right. Maybe this is only a joke. I don't love you Cloud. So don't feel sorry for me."

She spoke very gently to him. Not in a scolding manner, but more of a hushed voice. Nothing at all made sense since Tifa begun to speak a few minutes prior. To Cloud, it all seemed like one big mood swing. He frowned, trying to find the right words to get across to her.

" Tifa I care about you very much…" Cloud could sense a change in her presence. He shifted uncomfortably and was about to continue, but Tifa spoke up instead.

" Oh no…poor Cloud. Don't try to save me now. You're too late. At first you hold me like you love me. No, like you're in love with me. But in your mind, you hold me like you "care about me very much"" Tifa mocked his words. Cloud breathed deeply at her harsh attitude. He didn't like her tone.

Such an attitude was not at all like Tifa. Never had she felt this way. Never had all the pain and anger of her life taken such control of her mouth. They had truly been happy the last six months. They had been a real family. Cloud, Marlene, Denzel and herself. So why did she feel this way?

" Tifa, I don't understand what changed your mood. We were just…happy? I never said anything to upset you, did I? "

" You love Aerith. That's about all it takes." Cloud held a slightly shocked expression, letting the emotion seep onto his face. He wanted to correct her but instead he let her finish.

"It's okay. Everyone suspected it. From that happy look you get in your eyes when you notice how Marlene looks like Aerith. Or when I bring home flowers to decorate the bar. You look happy. And then when you think no one is looking, you look sad again. You're thinking about her. How you couldn't save her. And how much you want to be with her but you can't."

She continued, not letting him speak.

"I thought that you were moving past all of that. You seemed happy enough. But I guess we aren't really enough, right? You thought it was a good idea to start up the bar after Barret suggested it. You told me that you could start a new life, and it would work, because I was always with you. Those are the ideal words of a lover to his beloved. But in reality…there is no reality to that. We can't be lovers because you're in love with someone who you can't be with."

" Tifa that's not true. There is so much I need to say to you– " Tifa cut him off again. This time brushing past him nearing the door.

" You failed me where it mattered most Cloud. You broke our promise."

With that, she left. No door slamming, no stomping, no tears. Just a trail of blood, from the deep crescent wounds inflicted on her hand.

Cloud stood silently for a while. Unsure of what just happened, and how to deal with it. What really caused her to snap? He hadn't meant to set her off. In fact, he had been trying to avoid this.

She said she didn't love him. He didn't know how he really felt about that though. In his heart, he knew what he wanted. So maybe he should just tell her.

The door to Seventh Heaven slammed open against the wall, and then shut again. The chimes clanking loudly against each other. Afraid that it would wake the kids, Cloud walked over to their room and peeked in. He sighed. Now look at his family. He needed to resolve this before they woke up. They would be fine as long as he didn't take too long to find Tifa.

'I'll be back, I'm gonna go get your mother" Cloud whispered.

Rain. It was pouring now. As soon as she stepped outside the storms had begun. Perhaps they were reflecting Tifa's emotions, or mocking them.

"I can't believe I told him that I didn't love him. This isn't how I wanted it to go at all. It's just that I lost control." She was drenched. And was talking to herself. Between the two, any onlookers would assume that she was crazy. Maybe she was.

She stood near a familiar structure. The church. No. This isn't where she wanted to be. She was soaked though. Not like going into the almost roofless abandoned church would do much to solved that.

She found herself walking in anyway though. The murky atmosphere, the smell of wet rotting wood , and the feeling of something ethereal took over her senses. It wasn't a horrible place. No, Denzel and many others were cured because of this place. But the person behind it, her friend, was what was making her anxious.

"Aerith. I know you're here. Please tell me that you don't love Cloud." Confusion. That was what Tifa felt in response. So she wanted to play dumb.

" I mean, I know you love him…but not as a lover right?" This time it was a more straightforward answer, as an image of a figure in pink made her way in Tifa's mind. The figure began to speak.

" Tifa, even I must admit, I'm slightly jealous of you. I never told Zack though. Or even Cloud. But, you get to live with him. You get to touch him, and see him whenever you want. I can only watch after him from a distance." The pink figure, known as Aerith smiled.

"So you do love him?" Tifa realized that this was pointless. Aerith would never admit it to her. But it was obvious. Tifa had long hoped that it was only a crush, or a sister's love.

"Fine. Be with him"

"Tifa" Aerith spoke in a confused tone.

"This isn't like you. Let me help." She smiled and went to take Tifa's hand just as Tifa snapped back into reality.

" My friend…"

She was completely sopping wet. Tears now streaming down her face, she realized that she felt really cold. She had been unusually pale as of lately. Thinking about Cloud and how , even after six months, he never told her that he loved her. That was when she began to suspect. She never really accused him of loving Aerith before to anyone. She knew he felt guilty, but that was over with. He was forgiven. He was cured of Geostigma. He had no reason not to tell her he loved her. After all, he had decided to stay with her. Start a new life with her. He was the one who pulled her into that loving embrace in the first place.

' When I asked him if he loved me, he looked dubious. So I switched the question. I didn't really wanna know the answer just yet. I wanted us to get through our issues, or whatever was going on at the time. I guess I was too quick to judge.' Tifa's thoughts were literally shaken out of her mind as coughs racked her body.

'Guess I'm too stressed. I'm getting like Cloud.' She sighed. What would she do? Would she go back? How could she, after making such a scene? But she also couldn't abandon the kids. She really didn't want to see Cloud though. Now her feelings were out in the open. Even though she denied loving him, her actions spoke the opposite.

She was soon drifting off, leaning against a musty old wooden box with a flower on top of it. The large pond of holy water at her feet, she fell into a dreamless sleep.

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Cloud revved up the engine as he sped through Midgar. Knowing Tifa, she probably wanted to speak with Aerith, seeking help. Tifa was a sweet girl. Everyone who knew her ( that wasn't a victim of her fists) knew that. Cloud felt guilty, even though he had not intentionally meant to hurt her. She wouldn't even let him speak. Maybe things would have turned out differently if she had.

He pulled hard on the handlebars as his bike jerked him back from the abrupt halt. He knew she was here.

A familiar feeling engulfed him as he walked into the ruined church. It once stood tall and beautiful. Now the only beauty that remained was the history. The floor creaked under his heavy boots as he made his way around the broken pews and pillars. He stopped as he saw a mass of dark chocolate hair by the pool of Holy water.

As he approached he called her name softly. What would he say? Would he apologize?

However all thoughts fled his mind when the women did not respond.

He rushed over, and saw that her eyes were closed. Her body had slunk into the water, so that everything below her midriff was covered in the pure water of the pool.

He began to pull her out when he noticed her temperature. She was freezing. The water was warm however, soothing and welcoming.

"Tifa come on, wake up " The young woman stirred.

"Cloud? Is that you?"

"Yeah Teef, it's me" Cloud was anxious. He wanted to speak with her, to clear some things up.

"Cloud leave me here. It's warm. Just for a little bit longer." Tifa spoke sleepily. She tried to push her body over so she could rest but Cloud gripped her shoulders.

"Cloud? Let me go, I'm not going back this time"

"Tifa, talk to me" He refused to let her go until she talked.

"Fine" He pulled her up and carried her out of the church towards his bike. As he placed her on, she slumped off, refusing to fully awaken herself.

" Guess what Cloud, I saw Aerith. She said that she loves you…well she didn't say it but she meant it. You should go talk to her." Tifa coughed. Cloud frowned and pulled her onto the bike again.

"Tifa, are you sick? Is that what this is?" Tifa smiled. And raied a pale hand to his cheek.

"Not really. I don't want to give up, for the kids. Now I see how you must've felt when you left. I feel really tired though. I guess it's really just stress." Tifa closed her eyes.

Cloud mounted the bike, behind her, so that his body could support her. He started the engine and began to drive home. It was a silent drive for the most part.

"Hey Cloud?" Tifa half-whispered , forgetting that he might not hear her because of the loud engine.

"Yeah?" He heard her.

"I love you. I lied earlier. I really do love you"

"…I know"

"Don't you have a better answer?"

" I love…"

" Who, Cloud? Me or Aerith?"

Tifa snapped her eyes open, feeling tears well up, then shut them tightly to prevent them from falling.

"Tifa, you and I have grown very close, I - " His thoughts were cut short and he was unable to reply to her question. He felt her body tense, then relax.

" It's ok Cloud"

He pulled up towards Seventh Heaven. The children were awake and standing in front of the driveway.

" Hey Cloud, where were you - " Denzel stopped.

" Oh…oh no" Marlene began crying.

Cloud was confused. What did they see that he didn't. As he went to wake Tifa, he understood. She was smiling. Eyes closed. She looked very pretty.

"Tifa?" Cloud pleaded. " The kids" He whispered in her ear.

"You can't do this" He shook her lightly.

"Cloud? What happened? What happened to Tifa?" Marlene asked though tears. How is it that children can sense more than adults?

" I…" Cloud didn't know how to reply as he lifted her body off his bike. He held her and her hair tickled his arm. He sadly whispered something in her ear again, although he knew she couldn't hear him.

" Tifa…_she_ was the love of my life"

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End

Well how was it? Sad? Happy? Stupid? If it's hard to understand…Tifa was silently depressed about Cloud and it took its toll on her body. The heart is a very strange thing, because people often to get sick from heartbreak. It also causes mood swings and such.

I really hoped you liked it, even though it was a little angsty.

R+R please

Ace.Luna.Sky


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